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Gigabyte GC-Thunderbolt 2 PCIe Expansion Cards Now Available for X99 Motherboards

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tonymacx86

tonymacx86

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Gigabyte's new GC-Thunderbolt 2 expansion card is now available. This card is only for their x99 motherboards, and requires a special motherboard header.
20141201161017_big.pngLooks like the same general layout as the ASUS ThunderboltEX-II, which has become difficult to find. The card is selling for around $45- definitely something to consider if you own a X99 Gigabyte board.

Gigabyte Dual Ports DisplayPort 1.2 Capable with 4K Video Throughout GC-Thunderbolt 2
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S9SGNLU/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995040

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Official Product Page
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5210#ov
 
400 Series
Prime Z490-A |  i5 10600K |  HD 630
300 Series
Z370N WIFI |  i7 8700K |  HD 630
200 Series
GA-Z270X-UD5 |  i3 7100 |  Radeon RX Vega 56 Air Boost
100 Series
GA-Z170X-UD5 TH |  i5 6600K |  GeForce GTX 770
9 Series
GA-Z97-D3H |  i7 4790K |  HD 4600
Kind of useless for a desktop unless prices for thunderbolt devices drop in near future.
 
400 Series
Prime Z490-A |  i5 10600K |  HD 630
300 Series
Z370N WIFI |  i7 8700K |  HD 630
200 Series
GA-Z270X-UD5 |  i3 7100 |  Radeon RX Vega 56 Air Boost
100 Series
GA-Z170X-UD5 TH |  i5 6600K |  GeForce GTX 770
9 Series
GA-Z97-D3H |  i7 4790K |  HD 4600
Is there reason to believe that this Gigabyte GC-Thunderbolt 2 card would not work with just about any X99 board with a Thunderbolt header? The reason I ask is because the Gigabyte offering is cheaper by about half the price of the Asus ThunderboltEX II card and seems easier to find. Also I was under the impression that Intel worked with Asus and other manufacturers on this implementation of Thunderbolt II add-on methodology after refusing to certify the Asus initial implementation of the never released / defunct ThunderboltEX card.

The Asus ThunderboltEX II cards and this new Gigabyte GC-Thunderbolt 2 card as well as any other such new cards should represent an adherence to a standard set buy Intel rather then an individual manufacturers proprietary tech.

One size fits all,......?

I don't know, I might be willing to try it on my Asus X99-A motherboard,.....
 
Octavean said:
Is there reason to believe that this Gigabyte GC-Thunderbolt 2 card would not work with just about any X99 board with a Thunderbolt header? The reason I ask is because the Gigabyte offering is cheaper by about half the price of the Asus ThunderboltEX II card and seems easier to find. Also I was under the impression that Intel worked with Asus and other manufacturers on this implementation of Thunderbolt II add-on methodology after refusing to certify the Asus initial implementation of the never released / defunct ThunderboltEX card.

The Asus ThunderboltEX II cards and this new Gigabyte GC-Thunderbolt 2 card as well as any other such new cards should represent an adherence to a standard set buy Intel rather then an individual manufacturers proprietary tech.

One size fits all,......?

I don't know, I might be willing to try it on my Asus X99-A motherboard,.....
Click to expand...

I have no idea, as I have not tested, but there could be BIOS settings setup to detect the specific hardware in the ASUS motherboard or Gigabyte motherboard. As someone who has the ASUS ThunderboltEX-II, the thunderbolt header looks exactly the same on both Gigabyte X99 mobo and ASUS Z97 mobo. So I assume it should be cross-compatible.
 
400 Series
Prime Z490-A |  i5 10600K |  HD 630
300 Series
Z370N WIFI |  i7 8700K |  HD 630
200 Series
GA-Z270X-UD5 |  i3 7100 |  Radeon RX Vega 56 Air Boost
100 Series
GA-Z170X-UD5 TH |  i5 6600K |  GeForce GTX 770
9 Series
GA-Z97-D3H |  i7 4790K |  HD 4600
I have an Asus X99 board and was going to order this, but Newegg has a note, "This card is only work with GIGABYTE X99 board" which has me concerned.

That being said, I really don't see how this could be any different from the Asus one...
 
IronTek said:
I have an Asus X99 board and was going to order this, but Newegg has a note, "This card is only work with GIGABYTE X99 board" which has me concerned.

That being said, I really don't see how this could be any different from the Asus one...
Click to expand...

There could be embedded firmware that prevents cross OEM BIOS compatibility. Early indications are that the Gigabyte version on a Gigabyte board does not require Windows configuration to work so something is different. I would only try if I was comfortable paying for return shipping which Newegg will do and more importantly, the very real possibility that your BIOS settings could get royally screwed up and will need to do a hard CMOS reset. Very little danger of bricking your BIOS though.
 
I got this board today, works fine in Windows but OS X doesn't see it. SysInfo gives "Thunderbolt: No drivers are loaded." (The kext's are present.)

There's some BIOS settings I'll fiddle with, but I've already tried a few and still no love.

And yes, it's for x99 GIGABYTE's only and requires a jumper from the MB.

EDIT: DisplayPort video works fine, but I think that's just a pass through if the card's powered.
 
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